


Wine and Waterfalls

by dedicatedfollower467



Series: Zukka Shorts [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alcohol, Drunkenness, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fill, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 12:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3570068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dedicatedfollower467/pseuds/dedicatedfollower467
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sokka has a great idea to go over a waterfall in a barrel full of wine. Now he and Zuko just have to empty the barrel first....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Posted from Tumblr.
> 
> Ch 1 - Fill for the prompt: Sokka/Zuko #15 "So, I found this waterfall..."  
> Ch 2 - Fill for the prompt: Sokka/Zuko #18 "This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you've ever had. Of course I'm in."
> 
> Set after The Boiling Rock and before The Southern Raiders, like all good Zukka fic.

Zuko minded his own business. Finding a secluded spot away from everyone else was easy, especially when no one wanted to come looking for him. Katara finished her daily glaring at him, and he gave Aang the day off, if only because he couldn’t take much more of the kid’s flighty attitude.

He spent his time doing katas on his own instead, timing his breathing and feeling the rhythms of his body. Stripped down to only his trousers and standing in his bare feet, he felt closer to his element somehow. There was something satisfying about feeling the heat blow back in his face, knowing that he was in perfect control of the flame.

Pausing a moment to watch one of the arcs of fire sweep out from his legs, Zuko allowed himself a small smile. Uncle would be proud.

The smile fell from his face as he thought about Iroh. He still didn’t know if his uncle would accept him. More than anything, he wanted at least the chance to beg for forgiveness, but he didn’t even know if he would get that.

A slight sound from the edge of the clearing distracted him, and he turned, falling into a firebending stance.

“Whoa, hey! It’s just me,” Sokka said, holding his hands up in an innocent gesture.

Zuko mentally relaxed, but didn’t drop his stance, choosing instead to drill himself on another kata. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sokka watching, following his movements. He didn’t mind the audience though.

As the kata ended, Zuko exhaled one last time, feeling the flames die away. Then he turned back to Sokka, letting his raised eyebrows ask the question for him.

Sokka interpreted the gesture exactly the way Zuko had expected him to. It was nice, how well they read each other’s body language. The Water Tribe boy leaned forward, grinning.

“So, I found this waterfall…”

Zuko left his eyebrows raised. “And?”

Sokka grinned. “And I was wondering if you’d be interested in seeing whether we can ride a barrel down it.”

“Where are you going to get a barrel?” Zuko asked, beginning another kata.

“There’s a lot of old stuff stored around here, I’ve been exploring, and yesterday I found a whole cellar of wine. Still in the barrels. Now over a hundred years old, certified.”

That was enough to make Zuko pause his kata. “Wine? In a nuns’ temple?”

Sokka shrugged. “They might have sold it or something.”

Zuko licked his lips, feeling the sweat trickle down his back. “I assume you weren’t planning on letting that good wine go to waste.”

“Oh no,” said Sokka. “We’d have to finish the barrel first, obviously.”

Zuko couldn’t help smiling. “Which would probably help the decision to go over a waterfall in a barrel.”

“It’s not a very big waterfall.”

Zuko laughed. Actually laughed. “All right,” he said, walking over to stand next to Sokka, “I’m in.”


	2. Chapter 2

The wine was good. Zuko had drunk quite a lot of Fire Nation wine, and some Earth Kingdom wine, and he knew that this was  _good stuff_.

Also, drinking a large quantity of wine over the course of several hours with a Water Tribesman who knocked it back like grape juice was not something he would be trying again in a hurry. Zuko was pretty sure that if Sokka hadn’t spilled at least two thirds of the barrel in trying to get it open, they would both be dead right now.

Rolling the empty barrel up to the top of the waterfall was a challenge of tangled limbs and failed coordination. At some point, he wound up with his face in front of Sokka’s, falling backwards over the barrel.

“We are very drunk,” he told Sokka. “Very, very drunk.”

Sokka giggled, his flushed cheeks squeezing his eyes. Zuko started giggling himself, smiling at his fellow barrel-roller.

And then, without thinking, he leaned over and kissed Sokka on the nose.

Was it just him, or had Sokka’s blush gotten deeper. “What was that?” said Sokka.

Zuko shrugged. “You looked cute,” he said.

Sokka giggled again.

When they finally got the barrel to the top, they found themselves standing (swaying, really) in a stream of water. Zuko peered over the edge and saw a waterfall. It wasn’t a very big waterfall. Not really.

“Plan?” said Zuko, turning to Sokka.

Sokka was already crawling into the barrel. “We get in, we go over,” he said. “Like a snow sled, except in a barrel, on a waterfall. You in?”

Zuko shook his head. “This is,” he said. “This is, without doubt the  _stupidest_ plan you’ve  _ever_ had. ‘Course I’m in.”

“C’mon,” said Sokka, grabbing Zuko’s arm.

He almost couldn’t crawl in. The barrel was two small to really fit both of them properly, and he could barely control all his limbs. Eventually he wriggled his way inside, pressed nose-to-nose with Sokka.

They lay there for a long moment, staring at each other. Water streamed into the barrel and soaked their clothes.

Sokka collapsed into giggles again. “We’re too heavy,” he said. “We gotta roll.”

Zuko laughed and started to rock back and forth. But he couldn’t match the rhythm Sokka was trying to roll them in, and so nothing happened. Eventually they both quit, laughing and lying in the water.

Zuko didn’t even have to lean to kiss Sokka on the nose this time. Sokka giggled so hard that he stopped breathing for a moment. And then he started to shiver.

“S’cold.” Sokka said.

“Hang on,” said Zuko, and practiced his breath of fire.

The small puff of flame that left his lips made Sokka giggle again, but it warmed them both up, and Sokka snuggled closer and put his arms around Zuko. He could feel himself getting warm but he didn’t know if it was the breath of fire or something else.

They fell asleep like that, pressed against each other in a barrel half-full of water.

* * *

The next morning, Zuko snorted himself awake with a noseful of water, and both he and Sokka spent the rest of the day with splitting headaches.


End file.
